A Very Curtis Christmas
by Iamafanoftoomanythingstoname
Summary: Late at night on Christmas Eve, Ponyboy finds out about an incredible secret. Chapter 3 is up!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders.**

The Curtis brothers were having their annual Christmas party with the gang. They had started this a few years ago when their parents were still around, and they always had the party on Christmas Eve. Christmas was always the best time for all of them. Darry could relax for the few days he had off work, Pony could get out of school for a little while, and Sodapop, well, he was just even happier than usual. Christmas brought what I guess you could call a smile to Dallas's face. Steve just had a good ol' time, and the same could be said for Johnny. But Two-Bit was the most excited of them all. He'd wrap the whole world in Christmas lights if he could. He came in, wearing a Santa hat and carrying a box of candy canes.

"Hey, do you guys want some?" Everyone but Dally took one.

"Come on, Dal. I know you want it…" Two-Bit waved a candy cane in front of his face. Dally rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he gave in, taking it from Two-Bit's hand. Dally looked at it closer, then threw it at Two-Bit's face. "This one's fake."

"Yep, I saved that one just for you!" Two-Bit laughed. Dally raised an eyebrow. "All right, don't get your boxers in a bunch. Here." He handed a real one to him. Dally glared a little and started unwrapping it. "So, do you guys think he's the Grinch or Ebenezer Scrooge?" Dally grinned mischievously.

"Your worst nightmare. I'm a mixture of both."

"Wait; didn't they mend their ways by the end?" Ponyboy pointed out. Dally frowned.

"Before the end, stupid."

They all had fun laughing and talking and playing games. Until they started that yearly debate over Santa Clause again that Two-Bit started. You see, most of them had stopped believing in Santa a long time ago, but Two-Bit always insisted that he was real.

"He does too exist!"

"Two-Bit, you're eighteen!" Steve shouted.

"So what? Santa is still real!"

Little did they know, Two-Bit had been right all along. That night, when Ponyboy woke up to get something to drink, he heard some noise. '_What's going on?' _He thought to himself. He quietly walked into the living room.

"Hello? Who's there?" He saw someone in a Santa suit putting presents under the tree. Could it be the real Santa Claus? He shook his head. No. It was probably just Two-Bit. He wouldn't put it past him.

"Okay, Two-Bit. I caught ya." The guy dressed as Santa turned around and looked at Pony. It wasn't Two-Bit. It was… "Darry? Is that you?"

"Ho, ho, ho, no, little boy. I'm Santa Claus!" Pony raised an eyebrow.

"I know that's you, Darry."

"How did you know it was me?"

"Well, for one, Santa is supposed to be old and fat and I could tell it was you by looking at your face. Darry, what the heck are you doing?" Pony picked up a watch off the floor.

"Hey, Dar, did you drop your watch? What does this button do?" Darry ran over to him.

"No, Ponyboy, don't touch that!" But it was too late. The two brothers disappeared.

Darry and Pony looked around. They weren't home anymore.

"Darry… where are we?" Pony asked, looking wide-eyed at the watch in his hand.

"We're at my workshop," Darry answered, taking the watch and putting it on. "I was afraid this was going to happen." Pony stared at Darry. What kind of weird dream was this? Or was it a dream? It had to be. How could Darry be Santa Claus? Just then, an elf walked up.

"Um, Santa Claus, sir, aren't you supposed to be delivering presents? And who's that?"

"Yes, I know. And this is my brother, Ponyboy. He hit the button on my watch," Darry said, glaring at Pony. The elf looked at Darry.

"No one was supposed to see you!" Darry sighed.

"It's all right. Pony won't tell, right?" Ponyboy nodded quickly.

"Well, Santa, you better hurry up and get those presents delivered."

"I know. I'm almost done." Darry pushed the button on his watch and they found themselves in their house again. "Come on, Ponyboy."

"What?"

"Don't you want to come with me?" Ponyboy just nodded slightly, still trying to piece together what was going on. Darry led him to the sleigh and they got in. Soon enough, they were way up in the sky. Pony was sure that he'd gone mad by now as he looked at the flying reindeer pulling the sleigh. Could this really be real?

"Darry… when did you become Santa? Is this your second job that you never tell us about?" Darry sighed, thinking for a moment.

"Yeah, it is. The thing is, Dad was Santa. He never told me up until a couple nights before the accident. Ironically, he told me just in case something would happen to him. The name gets passed down to the oldest son. Being Santa Claus has always been in the Curtis blood." Pony stared at him.

"You know Darry; I'm never gonna look at you the same again." Darry laughed.

"I know."

"Wait, do you get paid to be Santa?" Darry's grin faded.

"No. Sorry, kiddo. And I just don't have time for a third job. But hey, we're makin' it, ain't we?"

"I guess," Pony mumbled. Sure, they were making it, but he wouldn't mind being at least a little better off. Both of them were silent until they got to the next house.

"This is actually the last house, so we're gonna head home after this, okay? I'll be back in a second," Darry said, picking up the last of the presents and going down the chimney. Ponyboy sighed and leaned back, looking at the stars and thinking. He missed his dad. He was always so fun and laughing. It was not really surprising that he was Santa Claus, but Darry? The only thing he really has in common with their dad is his looks. Darry was strict and cold. Santa was supposed to be jolly. Sure, Darry hadn't always been the way he was now, but it didn't matter. Darry was just Darry. '_At least Dallas isn't Santa_,' Pony thought, '_now that would be way too weird.' _ Darry came back up the chimney.

"All right, are you ready to go home now?" Pony didn't respond. He was still too lost in thought. "Ponyboy?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking."

"You know, for a kid who doesn't use his head, you sure think a lot. Why don't you apply some of that thinking to common sense?" Darry wasn't scolding his brother, but only half-teasing. Fortunately for him, Ponyboy saw it that way.

"You know, for a guy that acts really cold, you make a pretty good Santa Claus. Why don't you apply some of that to the rest of your life?" Pony teased back.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Pony was silent. Darry rolled his eyes and they started off. "Oh, I gotta drop off the sleigh back at the North Pole before we go home, okay?"

"But… then how do we get home?" Darry pointed to his watch. "Oh, yeah. I forgot."

"There you go again. 'I forgot.' Man, I'll hate trying to talk to you when you get really old. You might even forget who I am!"

"Whatever," Pony said, punching Darry's shoulder lightly. After a while, they finally got to the North Pole and dropped the sleigh off. Darry stopped in the workshop and announced that the job was done and wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

"You ready?" Darry asked. Pony nodded, and Darry pushed the button on his watch, sending them both home. "Okay, you better get to bed for the few hours that's left."

"You expect me to sleep after that?"

"I know I am," he said, messing up Pony's hair. "Oh, and please don't tell anyone about this. Not even Two-Bit. I mean it, Ponyboy."

"I hear you, Santa."

"Pony…" Darry warned.

"I won't tell anyone, Darry." The two brothers went their separate ways. Pony laid back down in his bed. So Darry really is Santa. And Santa is actually real. He really wished he could tell everyone, but he couldn't. This just had to be kept a secret. He suddenly laughed a little to himself. _'Now what am I going to do? Pretend that I don't believe in Santa?' _He shook his head. It was funny... now he knew Santa Claus would always be in town. The same Darry that yelled at him to get his homework done and use his head was also the same guy that brought presents to children and laughed merrily and had lots of fun. Maybe Darry wasn't so bad off after all. Pony knew it would be kind of hard to take Darry seriously anymore. The most unexpected of things always happens to them. _'What's next? Probably Dallas announcing that he is actually the Easter Bunny…'_ Pony tossed that thought away. That was just too ridiculous. But you just never know…

**A/N: I hope you liked the story! And Merry Christmas! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone! I wanted to write another Christmas fanfic for The Outsiders so I decided to continue this one a little! Merry Christmas! (Also, I know a lot of people want me to write another story about Holly and Darry where they have a baby… I want to write it too but I'm kind of stuck. I'll try to write it but it's probably going to take some time… sorry.)**

'_Homework over Christmas break, this is so ridiculous," _Ponyboy thought to himself when he got home from school. There were only a few days until Christmas. He was supposed to write an essay for English class. He threw his bookbag in his room. _'No way I'm doing this.'_ He laid down on the couch and turned on the TV, trying to see if there were any good Christmas shows on. He looked at the Santa Claus on this show. An old, jolly fat man with a red coat. Pony laughed to himself. _'He looks nothing like Darry.' _

It was still hard to believe that his big brother was Santa, and it was hard to keep the secret. He came really close to accidentally spilling it once. Two-Bit's sister had asked him if Santa was really real. Her friends had told her he wasn't real and she was really upset. Two-Bit told her they were just a bunch of dirty liars, but she wanted to hear it from someone besides her brother.

"_Actually, he does exist. In fact, last year I found out that Darry is-"He caught himself before he could give it away._

"_He's what?" She looked at him curiously. _

"_I mean, my brother Darry has actually seen the real Santa before. It's true, even ask him!"_

_Darry wasn't too happy after he heard about this._

"_I told you to keep it a secret!" he said in a hushed voice._

"_Relax, I didn't actually tell her! What's the big deal, anyway? Why is it so important for it to be a secret?" Ponyboy asked exasperatedly, not really wanting to fight with Darry._

"_Think about it Pony. What do you think would happen if everyone in the world knew that I was the real Santa?" He couldn't argue with that. It would probably cause total chaos, now that he thought about it._

It's been a year and he's managed not to tell anyone even though he has no idea how. He almost wishes he didn't know about it at all, but Darry told him there was nothing they could do to make him forget.

"_The one thing you can't forget," Darry laughed, poking fun at his brother's tendency to be forgetful. Ponyboy just rolled his eyes._

"_Shut it, Darry."_

Pony was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the truck pull in the driveway. As soon as Darry came through the door, the song 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town' came on the radio and Pony couldn't help it, he just started cracking up. Darry grinned and laughed too.

"Hey, ain't you supposed to go, 'ho, ho, ho'?" Ponyboy teased him, but Darry grabbed him in a headlock.

"You better watch it kid, or you ain't gonna find no presents under the tree on Christmas!" Soda came in and stared at them.

"Did I miss something? What's so funny?" He kicked off his shoes and threw his jacket on the couch.

"No, nothing," Ponyboy and Darry both said at the same time. Soda gave them a funny look.

"You guys are crazy." He walked past them to get some chocolate milk from the kitchen.

"Oh, and you're not?" Darry retorted.

"Nope." He took a giant swig from the milk jug. Darry sighed.

"How many times have I told you…" he started.

"…not to drink from the jug, Sodapop," Soda imitated his older brother's voice. Darry crossed his arms.

"Are you gettin' wise with me, little buddy?"

"No, I was just finishing your sentence for you. I figured you talk enough already so I decided to spare ya a couple words," Soda answered innocently. Darry raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? _I'm _the one that talks too much?"

"So, Pony, you excited for the ol' Christmas party?" Soda changed the subject.

'_Oh, boy,' _Ponyboy thought. You never know what crazy things could happen when the whole gang gets together on a holiday, especially Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, they were all ready to start the party, but Two-Bit wasn't there yet.

"I thought Two-Bit woulda been the first one here," Steve mused.

"Oh, he'll be here," Dally said with a cigarette in his mouth, "the idiot's ready to put up his tree halfway through the summer!" Not much later, said 'idiot' stumbled in the door. "What did I tell ya?"

"Happy birthday everyone!" he yelled, obviously drunk.

"Uh, oh. Here comes Frosty the Snowman."

"Oh, sorry Donald Duck, Happy Halloween. I kinda forgot you don't believe in that stuff." Two-Bit patted him on the back. Dally shrugged him off.

"Man, how much did you have to drink?"

"As much as I wanted," he replied smartly with a wide grin.

Sometime later they were all gathered around the TV, watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Ponyboy and Johnny sat there watching it quietly like a normal person, but everyone else (mostly Dallas) was making loud comments throughout the movie.

"I would make fun of him too, I mean look at his nose!" Dally commented.

"Come on, Dal. How would you like it if you got made fun of for your looks?" Steve asked him.

"Hey, if I had a nose like that, I would make sure it stayed hidden."

Two-Bit pointed at the TV when Santa appeared on the screen.

"See guys? I told you he was real!" You could practically hear the whole gang's collective groan.

"Here we go again," Soda muttered.

"It's just a movie, Two-Bit. It's not really a true story!" Steve said.

"Yeah it is! This year I'm gonna stay up all night and prove to you guys that he does exist!"

Ponyboy forced himself to stay quiet. This was one of those times when it was really hard to not give away Darry's secret. It was getting a little later and Darry realized he should probably go back to the North Pole and make sure everything was ready to go. He snuck out of the room and went to go put on his Santa suit, disappearing as he pushed the button on his magical watch.

"Hey, does anyone want some cookies or pie?" Sodapop offered. They all jumped up and went into the kitchen. Soda waved a Christmas tree shaped cookie in front of Dally's nose. "You know you want one!" Dally pushed him away.

"Everything is way too happy this time of the year. It's creepy."

"You're such a Grinch, Dal."

Two-Bit got a piece of pie but ended up accidentally dropping it on the floor.

"Oops."

Soda sighed and threw a towel at him. "You know, if you wanted us to clean the floor you coulda just told us instead of making a mess."

The party went on for a few more hours until the others started leaving and only Ponyboy and Soda were left.

"I think I'm going to bed," Soda yawned. "Hey, where's Darry? Did he already go to bed?"

"Probably," Pony lied.

"Huh. Well, goodnight."

"Night." Pony didn't stay up much longer but he went over to the window and looked outside. He saw Darry's sleigh fly through the sky. _'My life is so bizarre.' _ He closed the blinds and went to his room to go to sleep.

Darry walked in through the door after he had finally finished delivering all the presents around the whole world. He was tired, but in a fairly happy mood. It was certainly an adventure, traveling the whole world in one night. He went into the kitchen and was amused to find milk and cookies left in the table. _Ponyboy._

He wasn't going to get much sleep tonight but he didn't mind. _Tomorrow is going to be a great day._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! Wow, it's been months since I've posted a story… sorry about that. Last year I thought chapter two was gonna be the last chapter of this story, but I thought what the hey and wrote another one. My OC Holly is in this chapter. She's from my story Unexpected and she's also in my one-shot Their First Fight. If you haven't read either of those you should! Anyways, on with the chapter! Merry Christmas! **

Darry, his wife Holly, Ponyboy and Sodapop were all decorating the house for Christmas.

"You know what I think we should do this year? We should make one of them gingerbread houses!" Sodapop suggested as he was putting ornaments on the tree. Darry laughed.

"I don't think so, little buddy. That's way too much sugar for you."

"Aw, come on, Darry. You let us have chocolate cake for breakfast!" He tried to reason. Darry just shook his head.

"Yeah, I don't know why I do."

"That's because you like it too! You think it's a good idea, don't you Ponyboy?" Pony grinned.

"No, Darry's right. You're hyper enough all the time." Soda frowned at his brothers.

"You guys are no fun!" Before anyone could say anything else, Two-Bit ran inside, slammed the door behind him and started singing.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Everywhere you gooooo…" Dally threw a pillow at him, glaring. He was lying on the couch with a hangover.

"Shut up, will ya?" Two-Bit waved a beer bottle in front of his face.

"Looks like somebody had a little too much to drink!" Dally clumsily swatted him away.

"Says you."

"I don't know, you guys. I got some bad news. I heard someone tried to tell Santa that Dally's been good this year. He died laughing!" Two-Bit started cracking up and Dally tried to kick him. Darry and Pony shared a knowing look. Pony had found out that Darry was the real Santa Clause. He was the only one in the gang that knew because as hard as it was, he kept his promise not to tell anyone. It was tough being in high school where everyone insisted that Santa wasn't real. Pony wanted so bad to tell everyone the truth but he couldn't.

Darry hadn't actually told Holly yet either. Since they were married, it was okay for her to know. The truth was that Darry occasionally forgot about being Santa with all that was going on and all his responsibilities. It was a good thing he had his magic watch to remind him. He wondered how his wife would react to this news. And how was he going to tell her?

His thoughts were interrupted when Two-Bit came over and hug up a mistletoe right above where Darry was standing with Holly.

"Oh, look at that. Christmas rules, you two!" Holly blushed and Darry rolled his eyes although he was smiling.

"Like those rules you made up about our house?" Two-Bit pretended to be offended.

"Hey, those rules were perfectly valid!" Holly put her arms around Darry's neck and kissed him. Pony sort of laughed to himself as he realized that he was looking at Mr. and Mrs. Clause. Darry's eyes widened as he looked at his watch.

"Uhh… sorry guys. I gotta go. There's something I need to do." Soda watched as Darry left.

"Where's he been goin' off to? He's been disappearin' a lot since after Thanksgiving." He looked at Holly, thinking maybe she knew something about it but she just shrugged. Pony had to stop himself from telling them again. Still, he wondered what they would do if they found out. It would probably be really funny, but hopefully that would never happen. Two-Bit would make sure the whole world knew about it. Darry was sure lucky that it was Ponyboy that knew. Anyone else in the gang would never be able to keep their mouth shut.

At the workshop in the North Pole, Darry was hard at work making a list and checking it twice. He was also reading the letters from the children of the world. How does he have time for all that? Well, he had some special reading glasses to help him out.

"Nice, nice, naughty, nice… oh boy, I never would've guessed I would end up being Santa." Darry soon noticed that it was getting late, so he changed back into his regular clothes and pushed the button on his watch to go home. The rest of the gang had left, leaving just his brothers and Holly. She was already in bed reading a book. She smiled up at him.

"Hey, Darry. Where did you have to go in such a hurry?" He bit his lip and figured now was a good time as any to tell her.

"Uhhh…" he realized he was still wearing the glasses and took them off. "I have something important… and a little crazy to tell you." She laughed softly.

"What, are you the real Superman or something?" She said jokingly. Darry chuckled and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Not exactly. I know what I'm about to tell you sounds crazy and impossible, but it's the truth." She gave him a funny look.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Darry sighed and closed his eyes.

"What's the reason you stopped believing in Santa Clause?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked, confused. Darry thought for a minute.

"All right, I'll just get to the point… Santa is real, and I am him." Holly looked at him like he was nuts.

"What?" Darry looked down.

"I know how it sounds, but believe it or not, it's always been in my family's blood." She just stared at him.

"Darry…" she said slowly, "did you hit your head or something?"

"No, no… look, I'll prove it to you." Holly was almost sure by now that her husband had gone crazy. But he didn't look like it… He pushed the button on his watch, expecting them to be immediately transported… but nothing happened. Darry tapped it, surprised. "What's the matter with this thing? It always works…" Holly put a hand over his forehead.

"Dar, honey, maybe you should lay down." He shook his head, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Wait, let's try it again." This time it worked and Holly looked around, completely dumbfounded.

"How…?" She couldn't believe it as he snapped his fingers, magically changing into his Santa suit.

"Sometimes I forget I can do that. Well, you believe me now?" He nearly laughed at the expression on her face.

"… oh my gosh I married Santa Clause." He took her hand.

"Hey, I'm still the same guy." Once she recovered from the shock of this news she nodded. After she promised not to tell anyone Darry changed back and they went home.

On the night of Christmas Eve, Holly caught Darry before he left to deliver the presents.

"You can really do all this in one night?" she asked.

"Yeah, but don't ask me how," he answered with a smile.

"Since I believe in Santa now, does this mean I get two presents from you, or do you only deliver to kids?" He laughed.

"Hmmm… I suppose I could make an exception for my wife." He winked at her and kissed her gently. Love swirled in Darry's heart and he pulled her closer to him. "Goodnight," he whispered.

"Goodnight Darry," she whispered back as he disappeared.

'_My life is so bizarre,'_ she thought as she went to bed. After all, the sooner she went to sleep, the sooner Santa would come.

**A/N: Uh hahaha I just noticed after I posted this that I made Ponyboy think 'my life is so bizarre' at the end of chapter 2! Oh well. :/**


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